Cold weather might even help quality of apples left to harvest

Published: Monday, October 19, 2009 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, October 18, 2009 at 11:10 p.m.

EDNEYVILLE -- Low temperatures Saturday night did no damage to Henderson County's apple crop, growers said Sunday, but prolonged freezing weather might be a different story.

Facts

Midweek warmup

Today: Areas of frost before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 60. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph.

Tonight: Clear, with a low around 34. Calm wind.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 71. Tuesday night: Clear, with a low around 38.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 74.

Wednesday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 45.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 67.

Thursday night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Friday: Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. Chance of rain, 60%.

Friday night: A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 52. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

The higher elevations throughout Western North Carolina got their first taste of winter as snow fell Saturday night in amounts ranging from a few tenths of an inch in Haywood County to 2 inches at Mt. Mitchell, according to the National Weather Service.

After one more night of lows near freezing, a warmup starts. Highs should be around 60 today followed by 70 on Tuesday and 74 on Wednesday.

Temperatures were in the upper 30s in the Hendersonville/Asheville area Saturday night. The weather was not quite as cold as at the higher elevations, which had overnight lows in the 20s, said Blair Holloway, a meteorologist with the NWS office in Greer, S.C.

The NWS had a freeze warning in effect for the mountains of WNC from midnight through 9 a.m. today, he said, adding that a freeze warning could also be issued tonight for the same areas which include Henderson and Buncombe counties.

"There was absolutely no damage," said Leslie Lancaster, with Grandad's Apples 'n' Such in Edneyville. "We still have three varieties to harvest -- Pink Ladies, Gold Rush and Arkansas Black. The harvest for those will be finished next week."

In fact, the recent cold weather could prove to be a boon to apple quality, said Margaret Justus, with Justus Orchards.

The cold temperatures halt the ripening process, which locks in the fruit's good flavor and enhance the apples' crispness, she said.

"The cold weather will not hurt the apples, if anything it will help them because it's like putting them in the refrigerator and it will make them crisper," Justus said. "At this time of the year, that's great because you don't really want them ripening anymore because they are at their peak flavor and crispness now. We still have quite a few on the trees, some Arkansas Black and Pink Ladies, some Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and Mutsu."

She added that the farm should have the rest of its crop harvested by the end of this month or early November.

Dawn Creasman, with Creasman Farms, LLC, and president of the Blue Ridge Farm Director Market Association, agreed that the cold weather is actually a good thing, but only up to a point.

"Now if it had gotten really, really cold, it would have been a bad thing," she said. "We got some wind and we got no frost, so it didn't do any damage. It depends on the temperature and the length of time the fruit stays at or below freezing. When it gets really cold, below freezing, that's when you worry."

She added that farmers may indeed have cause for concern if the weather report held true Sunday night. She said Sunday afternoon she had not heard about any possibility of freezing temperatures at that point.

"I don't know," Creasman said. "We may be worried about tonight."

The forecast for Henderson County today calls for highs in the upper 50s, lows tonight again in the low 30s with highs on Tuesday around 70, Holloway said. The area will continue to experience a warming trend of daily temperatures in the low 70s as the week progresses.

<p>EDNEYVILLE -- Low temperatures Saturday night did no damage to Henderson County's apple crop, growers said Sunday, but prolonged freezing weather might be a different story.</p><p>The higher elevations throughout Western North Carolina got their first taste of winter as snow fell Saturday night in amounts ranging from a few tenths of an inch in Haywood County to 2 inches at Mt. Mitchell, according to the National Weather Service.</p><p>After one more night of lows near freezing, a warmup starts. Highs should be around 60 today followed by 70 on Tuesday and 74 on Wednesday.</p><p>Temperatures were in the upper 30s in the Hendersonville/Asheville area Saturday night. The weather was not quite as cold as at the higher elevations, which had overnight lows in the 20s, said Blair Holloway, a meteorologist with the NWS office in Greer, S.C.</p><p>"Basically, there was no snow below (elevations of) 3,500 feet," he said. "We will definitely be below freezing tonight (Sunday) and tomorrow night (Monday)."</p><p>The NWS had a freeze warning in effect for the mountains of WNC from midnight through 9 a.m. today, he said, adding that a freeze warning could also be issued tonight for the same areas which include Henderson and Buncombe counties.</p><p>Several apple growers reported Sunday that their crops suffered no ill effects from Saturday night's cold temperatures.</p><p>"There was absolutely no damage," said Leslie Lancaster, with Grandad's Apples 'n' Such in Edneyville. "We still have three varieties to harvest -- Pink Ladies, Gold Rush and Arkansas Black. The harvest for those will be finished next week."</p><p>In fact, the recent cold weather could prove to be a boon to apple quality, said Margaret Justus, with Justus Orchards.</p><p>The cold temperatures halt the ripening process, which locks in the fruit's good flavor and enhance the apples' crispness, she said.</p><p>"The cold weather will not hurt the apples, if anything it will help them because it's like putting them in the refrigerator and it will make them crisper," Justus said. "At this time of the year, that's great because you don't really want them ripening anymore because they are at their peak flavor and crispness now. We still have quite a few on the trees, some Arkansas Black and Pink Ladies, some Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and Mutsu."</p><p>She added that the farm should have the rest of its crop harvested by the end of this month or early November.</p><p>Dawn Creasman, with Creasman Farms, LLC, and president of the Blue Ridge Farm Director Market Association, agreed that the cold weather is actually a good thing, but only up to a point.</p><p>"Now if it had gotten really, really cold, it would have been a bad thing," she said. "We got some wind and we got no frost, so it didn't do any damage. It depends on the temperature and the length of time the fruit stays at or below freezing. When it gets really cold, below freezing, that's when you worry."</p><p>She added that farmers may indeed have cause for concern if the weather report held true Sunday night. She said Sunday afternoon she had not heard about any possibility of freezing temperatures at that point.</p><p>"I don't know," Creasman said. "We may be worried about tonight."</p><p>The forecast for Henderson County today calls for highs in the upper 50s, lows tonight again in the low 30s with highs on Tuesday around 70, Holloway said. The area will continue to experience a warming trend of daily temperatures in the low 70s as the week progresses.</p>